"He gifted me a lesson in death": Frances Bean Cobain pays tribute to father Kurt Cobain on 30th death anniversary

Frances Bean Cobain posted a lengthy statement on Instagram on Friday, April 5, 2024, remembering her father, late Nirvana musician Kurt Cobain on his 30th death anniversary. Frances, an American visual artist and model, honored her late father while sharing throwback photos of them.

She wrote about her wishes to have known him while he was alive and also shared the lessons he seemingly taught her. Frances shared:

"He gifted me a lesson in death that can only come through the LIVED experience of losing someone. It’s the gift of knowing for certain, when we love ourselves & those around us with compassion, with openness, with grace, the more meaningful our time here inherently becomes."

Kurt Cobain passed away on April 5, 1994, in Seattle, Washington, United States at the age of 27.

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Frances Bean Cobain remembers father Kurt Cobain on the 30th anniversary of his death

Frances Bean Cobain was born in August 1992 in Los Angeles, California, United States to Kurt Cobain and his wife, fellow rockstar Courtney Love. The pair tied the knot on Waikiki Beach, Hawaii, on February 24 of the same year.

Kurt Cobain was the lead vocalist, primary songwriter, and a founding member of the grunge rock band Nirvana. Even 30 years after his death, the musician is still popular because of his unique music style of an innovative mix of punk, pop hooks, and 70's guitar rock.

On his death anniversary, his daughter, Frances Bean Cobain posted a carousel of pictures with two of them together from when she was a child. She also pointed out that it was, "the last time we were together".

One of the pictures shows Kurt kissing his daughter on the forehead while the other one shows the musician holding Frances Bean Cobain upside down. She wrote about her father in a lengthy tribute sharing that she wished she could've known her father.

"I wish I could've known my Dad. I wish I knew the cadence of his voice, how he liked his coffee, or the way it felt to be tucked in after a bedtime story. I always wondered if he would've caught tadpoles with me during the muggy Washington summers, or if he smelled of Camel Lights & strawberry Nesquik (his favorites, I've been told)," Frances wrote.

Frances Bean Cobain went on to express more about her grief, loss, and lessons that she learned after Kurt's death. She wrote that her grandmother, Wendy Cobain, would hold her hands and remark how much they were like her son's.

"In the last 30 years, my ideas around loss have been in a continuous state of metamorphosing. The biggest lesson learned through grieving for almost as long as I’ve been conscious is that it serves a purpose. The duality of life & death, pain & joy, yin & yang, need to exist along side each other or none of this would have any meaning," she added.

The model concluded her tribute by citing a letter Kurt wrote to her before he died which said, “wherever you go or wherever I go, I will always be with you.” She added that he had kept the promise as he was "present in so many ways."

"Whether it’s by hearing a song or through the hands we share, in those moments I get to spend a little time with my dad & he feels transcendent. ✨ To anyone who has wondered what it would’ve looked like to live along side the people they have lost, I’m holding you in my thoughts today. The meaning of our grief is the same 🕊️🌅"

Frances Bean Cobain is an actress and producer, who has been a part of several projects including Cobain: Montage of Heck (2015), Nirvana: Sliver (1993), and RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars (2012). She also controls the publicity rights to Kurt Cobain's name and image. She has been married to professional skateboarder Riley Hawk since October 7, 2023.